The 21st century brings far different issues than decades past. Equal opportunity and anti-discrimination laws are in place to protect our society from acts of discrimination and harassment.

UMass Lowell has Guidelines prohibiting discrimination based on any protected class, including race, age, gender, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, protected veteran status, reserves status, marital status, gender identity and expression, genetic information, retaliation or criminal record. The Protected Categories are defined on this webpage. UMass Lowell also has procedures whereby we review concerns or complaints that any of the Guidelines have been violated. Please see the Guidelines and Procedures page.

Employers are expected to provide working environments free from discrimination. The state and federal compliance agencies, EOOC and MCAD, interpret the application of these anti-discrimination laws. The EOO has the responsibility of applying these standards to its review of concerns and complaints of discrimination.

This website provides you with information on equal opportunity law, what constitutes discrimination and what you can do if you feel that you have been discriminated against.

For additional information regarding specific protections and resources, please see these pages:

The Equal Opportunity Guidelines found at the links above relate to prohibitions of discrimination. In addition, there are other types of uncivil or disrespectful behaviors, not based on protected class, which are prohibited by the University of Massachusetts. The Principles of Employee Conduct (pdf) describes these expectations.

Violation of any of the Equal Opportunity Guidelines or of the Principles of Employee Conduct will result in appropriate disciplinary consequences.

Supervisors have additional responsibilities regarding equal opportunity, preventing discrimination including sexual harassment and responding to concerns of discrimination and uncivil behavior. A supervisor is any employee who directs the work of others, including students. Thus all faculty are included in these responsibilities.

For information on reporting a concern or filing complaint of a violation of any of the Guidelines, please contact Equal Opportunity and Outreach at 978-934-3565. Please see the Guidelines and Procedures page for the relevant Procedure regarding your concern or complaint. The last pages of the procedures include a Complaint Form to file a complaint.

At any time, you may contact the following regarding filing an external complaint.